MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell is fighting for a $25 million contract like his colleague Rachel Maddow’s deal, as he takes a long break from his show.

An insider exclusively told The U.S. Sun that beloved newsman Lawrence, 73, who has been away from his anchor desk at The Last Word since March 13, has begun early discussions to renegotiate his contract, and so far he and network execs have not been able to find a middle ground.

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Lawrence O’Donnell has been away from his show for over 2 weeks now – an insider told The U.S. Sun that he has begun renegotiating his contract with the networkCredit: MSNBC

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According to the insider, Lawrence has asked for a plum contract similar to his earlier time slot counterpart Rachel Maddow’sCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
“Lawrence has been trying to renegotiate his contract, and what he wants is what internally everyone’s calling ‘The Rachel Maddow Deal,’” the insider explained. “That’s working about one day a week and recording a podcast, which will never happen again.”

The insider claimed that Rachel’s highly unusual megabucks contract that only requires she appear on air once a week, historically Monday nights, would never be given in today’s media climate.

“The fact Rachel got away with it under the old regime is one of the reasons the regime changed – it was just a crazy, silly contract.

“So, Rachel’s got this golden parachute, and they all want it,” the insider claimed.

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“The overall ratings have been down and once [President] Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office are over, Rachel’s going back to one day a week.

“She’s Lawrence’s lead-in, so without Rachel, his numbers are going to go down as well.”

In his last appearance on MSNBC March 12, Lawrence announced he would be taking a break from his anchor duties as Rachel, 51, passed the baton over to him ahead of his 10pm show.

He addressed Rachel’s pledge to be on the anchor desk full-time for Trump’s first 100 days.

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“I know you’ve pledged to cover and be here for the first 100 days of the Trump presidency. I hope you noticed that I did not make that same pledge when you did,” he said.

“This is day 52. I thought it was day 92. It turns out it’s day 52, Rachel, and I’m exhausted at day 52, and so I’m going to take next week off.

“And I’m telling you that now because I know you don’t like it when I just drift away. I’m just taking next week off, then I’m going to come back and go with you all the way to the 100 days.”

With that pledge to Rachel and viewers, Lawrence would have been back Monday the 24th at the latest, but he is now nearing his full second week off.

The insider said that the veteran newsman is concerned that once Rachel is done with her 100 day stretch, which ends in a little over 30 days, his ratings are going to take a hit, and it could impact his negotiations unfavorably.

“Lawrence’s thinking is that it’s not fair his numbers will take a hit when Rachel leaves again. He believes execs will blame him, and that that will ultimately be bad for his upcoming contract.”

The insider said that execs have flatly told him that they won’t be signing any contract that isn’t anything other than full-time at the anchor desk, and they cautioned the 73-year-old should be careful with the new boss, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler, who has hacked away at well known on-air staff since taking the helm earlier this year.

“He might cut off his nose to spite his face,” the insider cautioned, adding “If they can survive without Rachel, they can survive without Lawrence.”

MSNBC is splitting from NBC, and the insider added the new boss is there to make MSNBC “profitable.”

“By the time they spin off, they want to be a self-contained, profitable company and if Lawrence doesn’t want to be part of that, or just wants to do one show a week – it’s going to be a problem for him.”

A representative of MSNBC disputed this reporting.

The U.S. Sun previously reported that Rachel resumed full-time anchoring during Trump’s initial 100 days, partly in response to morning show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visiting Mar-a-Lago in November 2024 to reconcile with Trump.

“This is a major decision, and Rachel is seen as the person that has the biggest personality,” someone who has worked at MSNBC for ten years exclusively told The U.S. Sun at the time.

She “didn’t bend her knee when Trump started to threaten journalists, unlike some other people in this network,” they said.

In recent months, the cable network has undergone significant changes, including the surprising dismissal of several high-profile anchors.

Longtime anchor Joy Reid was let go last month, just weeks after accepting a pay cut in an effort to support the struggling channel.

She signed off with the final episode of her opinion program The ReidOut, marking the end of her six-year run.

However, her sudden departure sent shockwaves through the newsroom.

According to Status, tensions have reached a breaking point after the leak of a virtual meeting.

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Staff members, including Joy’s colleagues and production team, were reportedly “angry and frustrated” about learning their fate through media reports, as shared by a writer from the show who spoke to The U.S. Sun.

Although many acknowledge that “nothing can change the decision,” anxiety about the network’s future is now spreading across the organization.

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Lawrence has been off of his show, The Last Word, for over 2 weeks nowCredit: Instagram/lawrence_odonnell

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Just before he left for his break, which he told Rachel and viewers would only last a week, he mentioned Rachel’s full-time anchoring for President Trump’s first 100 daysCredit: MSNBC

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The network has seen a massive upheaval of its talent with a slew of famous faces being axed last monthCredit: AP